“You have to find a really cute pair of shoes for the hospital,” my friend told me roughly six weeks before I was going to enter the hospital for the birth of my second baby.

After back to back pregnancies, a demanding toddler and a cumbersome pregnancy, my own shoes were the last thing on my mind. I had been wearing the same tired Reef flip-flops for months (my one summer splurge? Monthly pedicures).

My friend was right. It was time for something hot, something decadent, something just for me. Unfortunately, my burgeoning belly and swollen feet were screaming “no heels!” while my wallet was screaming “stay out of Nordstrom.” So what is a formerly shoe loving mama with swollen feet and a toddler whose monthly shoe budget exceeds her own to do?

Jump on board the latest trend.

That’s right. Two hours into my shoe shopping extravaganza, I stumped upon these.

Apparently the jelly shoes I wore at eight with my jam shorts and an OP t-shirt were back, only this time they were for grown-ups, just as cheap as ever, but more bedazzled. My toddler daughter, who loves all things sparkly went nuts. My friend picked up a pair as well.

The day after I had my son, I shuffled from my room to the kitchen in search of sustenance. Covering my lumpy, unrecognizable body was a standard issue johnny. But on my feet? Oh yes, there they were. Hot, indeed. My friend was right.